Taliban strike multiple Pakistani military bases including Nur Khan Airbase
Mar 2nd 2026
Afghan Air Force drones struck multiple Pakistani military installations including the strategic Nur Khan Airbase in Rawalpindi in what Kabul described as retaliation for recent Pakistani air raids on Afghan territory.
- Afghanistan's defence ministry said its Air Force drones hit Nur Khan Airbase in Rawalpindi, the 12th Division headquarters in Quetta, the Khwizai Camp in Mohmand Agency, and other military sites in Pakistan.
- Kabul said the strikes were retaliatory for recent Pakistani aerial incursions into Kabul, Bagram and other Afghan regions.
- Afghan authorities published video of a kamikaze drone and images they say show damage to Pakistani facilities.
- Pakistan earlier launched airstrikes on Afghan cities including Kabul and said it killed more than 270 Taliban fighters and wounded over 400.
- The Afghan Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Afghan forces killed 55 Pakistani soldiers and targeted important military objectives inside Pakistan.
- Afghan forces also claimed to have shot down a Pakistani fighter jet over Jalalabad and captured its pilot, a claim Pakistan calls untrue.
- Pakistan's defence minister Khawaja Asif said relations had reached a state of open war and accused the Taliban of acting as a proxy for India.
- The exchanges mark a sharp escalation along the disputed 2,611 kilometer Durand Line border and raise concerns about broader regional spillover.